Overhead door construction



May 18, 1954 J. F. M KEE ET AL OVERHEAD DOOR CONSTRUCTION 4 Sheets-Sheet1 Original Filed Dec. 3, 1948 56 l I 3WIVU May 18, 1 J. F. MCKEE ET ALOVERHEAD DOOR CONSTRUCTION 1 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Dec. 5,1948 WM QM Y 7/5707/ 4 Mai %0 &@

May 18, 1954 .1. F. M KEE ET AL OVERHEAD DOOR CONSTRUCTION 4Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed Dec. 5, 1948 Wlefma $37 22W;

y 18, 1954 .1. F. MGKEE ETAL 2,678,689

OVERHEAD DOOR CONSTRUCTION Original Filed Dec. 5, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 4@WWM 7% Mi)? ZM UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIOE OVERHEAD DOOR CONSTRUCTIONJohn F. McKee, Aurora, and Melvin E. Hartzler, Downers Grove, Ill.,assignors to McKee Door Company, Aurora, 111., a corporation of IllinoisOriginal application December 3, 1948, Serial No. 63,372. Divided andthis application May 23,

1951, Serial No. 227,901

18 Claims. (01. 160-201) Our invention relates to overhead doorconstructions and is more particularly concerned with overhead doors ofthe type which consist of a plurality of sections hingedly connectedtogether and provided with rollers operating in tracks located at thesides of the door opening and having vertical and horizontal sectionswith connecting curved portions whereby the door is guided in itsopening and closing movements.

This application is a division of our co-pending application Serial No.63,372, filed December 3, 1948, now Patent No. 2,645,807, granted July21, 1953.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, it will be seen that we haveillustrated therein a door A comprising a plurality of sections 20 whichmay be of any desired size and construction and which will vary innumber according to the height of It has been conventional practice toprovide the door opening and other relevant circumthe sections of widedoors with reinforcing trusses stances. The door A is illustrated asbeing in which prevent warping or sagging and maintain the closedposition and as firmly sealed against the door rigidly against thepressure of wind the molding or doorjamb 22 of the door opening andother forces. provided by a building B. The tracks 24 are An object ofour invention is to provide a new l t o opp sides f the d r opening ndand improved overhead door construction which have vertical, horizontal,and connecting curved is lighter in weight than the prior art doors forportions for guiding the door in its opening and a given rigidity andwhich is more readily adapted closing movements and holding the door ineither for varying conditions of installation. closed or open position,and the door is provided An additional object of our invention is towith rollers 26 (best shown in Figs. 2 and 3), provide new and improvedhardware for an overwhich are located in these tracks and support thehead door of the aforesaid type. door therein. Suitable counterbalancingmeans A further object of our invention is to provide for the weight ofthe door is customarily proa new and improved hinge construction. videdand is connected by a cable or other flexible Still another object ofour invention is to promeans 32 to a plate 34 attached to a lower cornervide a new and improved truss construction. of the bottom door section.

A further object of our invention is to provide The individual doorsections 20 are connected a new and improved combined hinge and truss byhinges 80 near the outer vertical edges of the construction. doorsections. These hinges 8d are preferably Another object of our inventionis to provide constructed as shown in our pending United a new andimproved combined hinge and truss States patent application Serial No.63,372, filed support. December 3, 1948, and carry the rollers 26 whichOther objects and advantages will become apengage the tracks 24. parentas the description proceeds. The individual door sections are connectedin- In the accompanying drawings; 35 termediate the hinges 80 by hinges36. Each Fig. 1 is a rear elevational view of an overhinge 36 comprisesa pair of sections 36A and head door construction embodying our inven-363 preferably formed of sheet metal bent into tion and. showing thedoor in closed position; U-shape and having interengaging portions Fig.2 is an enlarged partial rear elevational which we shall now describe insome detail. view showing the truss construction in detail; 40 Referringparticularly to Figs. 3, 4 and 7, it

Fig. 3 is a partial horizontal section taken on will be seen that thehinge section 36A as upthe line 3--3 of Fig. 2; standing sides or ears38 to which sheet metal Fig. 4 is a side view of the combined hinge andcups 30 are welded or otherwise suitably secured. truss constructionshown at the right-hand side The cups so have comically tapered surfacesenof Figs. 2 and 3; gaged by the complementary surfaces provided by Fig.5 is an enlarged rear view of the combined the sides or upstanding ears42 of the hinge sechlnge and truss construction shown in Fig. 4; tion36B, the cups it being welded to the sides Fig. 6 is a partial viewsimilar to Fig. 4 but 38 after the hinge sections 36A and 36B and cupsshowing the use of shims to increase the tension 40 are located inassembled position. The taon the truss bar; pered surfaces of the cups4%) and sides 42 form Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 1-1bearings about whose axes the hinge sections of Fig. 4; and pivot.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional view showing a In wide doors it has beencustomary to provide detail of the manner in which the truss bars aretruss bars of U-shape cross section to increase attached to the doorsection. the rigidity of the door structure. We have found that trussbars of O-shape cross section, as best shown in Figs. 4 and 6, arelighter in weight for the same strength than the U-shaped barsheretofore used. We have also provided a novel and improved arrangementfor mounting such C-shape bars on the several door sections.

Referring particularly to Figs. 2 and 3, it will be seen that theO-shaped bars 52 are attached at their ends to the rails of theindividual door sections by a pair of bolts 54. These bolts 55 haveheads which engage one side of a rail and shanks passing through therail. and a special washer 56 (Fig. 8), the shanks being threaded toreceive nuts 58. Each washer 55 is of such size as to overlap the edgesof a round hole formed in the C-bar 52 and has projecting prongs 50which grip the wood of which the door sections are formed and preventrelative movement between the C-bar and door section. Intermediateportions of the C-bars 52 are bent rearwardly of the door sections andare supported on the upstanding sides or ears 33 of hinge section 35A.The support thus formed will be referred to as chair or strut 62.

The bar receiving end of each side of a chair or strut section 52 isprovided with a central recess 64 in which the C-shaped bar 52 seated.This bar is held in place by a sheet metal cap 55 secured by bolts 58 tolaterally projecting ears 10 integral with the sides of chair section52. The cap 66 has inwardly projecting tongues 12 provided with taperedsides which are wedged into the open side of the C-shaped bar 52 andgrip this bar so firmly that the result is the same as though the capwere welded thereto. it will be noted that the cap 66 has a downwardlydirected edge 14 overlapping the ears 18 located on one side of the bar52.

In some instances it is desirable to increase the tension on the trussbars by inserting shims therebeneath. Such a shim is indicated at '15 inFig. 6 wherein this shim is illustrated as being located between thechair 62 and bar 52. The shim also has lateral extensions 18 locatedbetween the ears 10 and adjacent portions of the cap 66.

It may be desirable to stiffen the hinge sections 36A and 36B and thiscan be accomplished by forming the fillets or gussets 82 in the hingesections. 7

At the upper and lower edges of the door the truss construction issimilar to the intermediate truss constructions except that only hingesections 36A are used to support the bar 52.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, it will be seen that we have provided a very simple combinedhinge and truss support member. Likewise, we have provided an improvedtruss construction which is simpler, less expensive, and lighter inweight for a given rigidity than the truss constructions of the priorart. Our truss construction incorporates a novel means for securing arigid load-carrying connection between the truss bar and its supportingchair or strut which requires no drilling of the truss bar and permitsthe chairs to be quickly affixed to the truss bar and door sections atany positions along the truss bar.

It is to be understood that our invention is not limited to the precisedetails shown but includes all modifications, variations, andequivalents coming within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A combined hinge and truss support com prising a first hinge sectionhaving a substantially fiat attaching portion and upstanding sides, asecond hinge section, means to rotatably connectsaid upstanding sidesand said second hinge section, said upstanding sides extending up wardlyabove said rotatably connecting means, and a seat for a truss bar on theupper end of said upstanding sides.

2. A combined hinge and truss support comprising a first hinge sectionhaving a substantially flat attaching portion and upstanding sides, asecond hinge section, means to rotatably connect said upstanding sidesand said second hinge section, said upstanding sides extending upwardlyabove said rotatably connecting means, a cap transversely disposed abovesaid upstanding sides, and means to fasten said cap to said sides.

3. A combined hinge and truss support comprising a first hinge sectionhaving a substantially fiat attaching portion and upstanding sides, asecond hinge section, means to rotatably connect said upstanding sidesand said second hinge section, said upstanding sides extending upwardlyabove said rotatably connecting means, flanges formed on the upper endof said upstanding sides, a cap transversely disposed above saidupstanding sides, and means to fasten said cap to said flanges.

4. A hinge for overhead doors of the multisection type comprising afirst section formed of sheet metal and having a substantially flatattaching portion and upstanding sides with cups attached thereto, saidcups having frusto-conical bearing surfaces and a second hinge sectionof sheet metal having upstanding sides with frustoconical bearingsurfaces engaging the frustoconical bearing surfaces of said cups, oneof said hinge sections constituting a strut for supporting a trussmember.

5. A combined hinge and truss support for overhead doors of themultisection type comprising a first section formed of sheet metal andhaving a substantially fiat attaching portion and upstanding sides withcups attached thereto, said cups having frusto-conical bearing surfaces,a second hinge section of sheet metal having upstanding sides withfrusto-conical bearing surfaces engaging the frusto-conical bearingsurfaces of said cups, the upstanding sides of one of said sectionsextending above said bearing surface, and a seat formed on the upper endof said last mentioned upstanding sides for supporting a truss member.

6. A combined hinge and. truss support for overhead doors of themultisection type comprising a first section formed of sheet metal andhaving a substantially fiat attaching portion and upstanding sides withcups attached thereto, said cups having frusto-conical bearing surfaces,a second hinge section of sheet metal having upstanding sides withfrusto-conical bearing surfaces engaging the frusto-conical bearingsurfaces of said cups, the upstanding sides of one of said sectionsextending above said bearing surface, a cap disposed transversely abovesaid last mentioned upstanding sides, and means to fasten said cap tosaid sides, said cap and said fastening means being adapted to connect atruss member to said last mentioned upstanding sides.

7. In an overdoor truss construction a first hinge section attached to adoor section, a second hinge section attached to an adjacent doorsection, means to rotatably interconnect saidhinge sections, one of saidhinge sections coming ends closely adjacent and secured to one of saiddoor sections and disposed away from the door sections intermediate saidends and engaging said upstanding member, said door sections and saidbar acting as cords, and said member acting as a strut of said trussconstruction, and means to fasten said bar to said upstanding member.

8. In an overdoor truss construction, a first hinge section attached toa door section, a second hinge section attached to an adjacent doorsection, means to rotatably interconnect said hinge sections, one ofsaid hinge sections compr sing a substantial fiat'attaching portion andan upstanding member' thereon, a truss bar having ends closely adjacentand secured to one of said door sections and disposed away from the doorsections intermediate said ends and engaging said upstanding member,said door sections and said bar acting as cords, flanges on saidupstanding member, a cap spanning the upper end of said upstandingmember and said bar, and means to fasten said cap to said upstandingmember.

9. In an overhead door truss construction, a first hinge sectionattached to one door section and having upstanding sides with cupsattached thereto, said cups having frusto-conical bearing surfaces, asecond hinge section having a relatively flat portion attached to anadjacent door section and having upstanding sides with frustoconicalbearing surfaces engaging the frustoconical bearing surfaces of saidcups, said first and second hinge sections providing a hinged connectionbetween said door sections, and a truss bar having ends closely adjacentand secured to said one door section and disposed away from said onedoor section intermediate said ends and engaging the upstanding sides ofsaid first hinge section, said bar and said door sections acting ascords of the truss construction, said hinge sections acting as a strutof the truss construction.

10. In an overhead door truss construction, a first hinge sectionattached to one door section and having upstanding sides with cupsattached thereto, said cups having frusto-conical bearing surfaces, asecond hinge section attached to an adjacent door section and having asubstantially fiat attaching portion and upstanding sides withfrusto-oonical bearing surfaces engaging the frusto-conical bearingsurfaces of said cups, said first and second hinge sections providing ahinged connection between said door sections, a truss bar having endsclosely adjacent and secured to said one door section and disposed awayfrom said one door section intermediate said ends and engaging theupstanding sides of said first hinge section, and means to fasten saidbar to said upstanding sides of said first hinge section.

11. In an overhead door truss construction, a first hinge sectionattached to one door section and having upstanding sides with cupsattached thereto, said cups having frusto-conical bearing surfaces, asecond hinge section having a substantially fiat portion attached to anadjacent door section and having upstanding sides with frusto-conicalbearing surfaces engaging the frusto-conical bearing surfaces of saidcups, said first and second hinge sections providing a hinged connectionbetween said door sections, a truss bar having ends closely adjacent andsecured to said on door section and disposed away from said one doorsection intermediate said ends and en.- gaging the upstanding sides ofsaid first hinge section, said bar and said door sections acting ascords of the door construction, said hinge sections acting as a strut ofthe truss construction,

said bar being seated in a recess in said up-' standing sides of saidfirst hinge section, flanges formed on the last mentioned upstandingsides, a cap engaging said bar, and means to fasten saidcap to saidupstanding sides of said first hinge section. J

12. In an overhead door truss construction, a first hinge sectionattached to one door section and having upstanding sides with cupsattached thereto, said cups having frusto-conical bearing surfaces, asecond hinge section having a substantially'fiat portion attached to anadjacent door section and having upstanding sides with frusto-conicalbearing surfaces engaging the frusto-conical bearing surfaces of saidcups, said first and second hinge sections providing a hinged connectionbetween said door sections, a 0- shaped truss bar having ends closelyadjacent and secured to said one door section and disposed away fromsaid one door section intermediate said ends and engaging the upstandingsides of said first hinge section, said bar and said door sectionsacting as cords of the door construction, said hinge sections acting asa strut of the truss construction, said bar being seated in a recess insaid upstanding sides of said first hinge section, flanges formed on thelast mentioned upstanding sides, a cap engaging said bar, tongues formedon said cap and disposed within the open face of said G-shaped trussbar, and means to fasten said cap to said flanges.

13. A door section of the class described comprising a bar of G-shapedcross section having its ends closely adjacent and attached to said doorsection, a chair interposed between said door section at an intermediateportion of said bar, said chair being of substantial length to space theintermediate portion of said bar away from said door section and form acompression member of a truss construction including said bar, a capattached to said chair and overlapping said bar, and a wedge shapedprojection provided by said cap and projecting into the open side ofsaid bar and firmly engaging the inturned edges thereof.

14. A door section of the class described comprising a bar of C-shapedcross section having its ends attached to said door section, a chairinterposed between said door section at an intermediate portion of saidbar, a cap attached to said chair and overlapping said bar, a wedgeshaped projection provided by said cap and projecting into the open sideof said bar and firmly engaging the inturned edges thereof, and meansinterposed between said chair and bar for increasing the tension on saidbar.

15. A truss construction for overhead doors comprising a bar having aG-shaped cross section, means attaching the ends of the bar to a doorsection, said ends being in close proximity to said door sectionsupports of substantial length interposed between intermediate portionsof the bar and said door section, said supports constituting compressionmembers of a truss construction including said bar, and wedge-shapedmeans engaging the inturned edges of said bar and rigidly connectingsaid bar at spaced intervals to said supports.

16. A truss construction for overhead doors

